Isa 49 | NASB2020 | STEP | Listen to Me, you islands , And pay attention , you peoples from afar . The Lord called Me from the womb ; From the body of My mother He named Me.

Isaiah 49

Salvation Reaches to the Ends of the Earth

1 Listen to Me, you ^aislands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
^bThe Lord called Me from the womb;
From the ^{▼▼Lit inward parts}body of My mother He named Me.
2 He has made My ^dmouth like a sharp sword,
In the ^eshadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a sharpened ^farrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3 He said to Me, “ ^gYou are My Servant, Israel,
^hIn whom I will show My glory.”
4 But I said, “I have ⁱlabored in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and futility;
Nevertheless, the justice due to Me is with the Lord,
And My ^jreward is with My God.”

5 And now says ^kthe Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that ^lIsrael might be gathered to Him
(For I am ^mhonored in the sight of the Lord,
And My God is My ⁿstrength),
6 He says, “It is too ^{▼▼Lit light}small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ^pprotected ones of Israel;
I will also make You a ^qlight ^{▼▼Or to}of the nations
So that My salvation may ^{▼▼Lit be}reach to the ^tend of the earth.”
7 This is what the Lord, the ^uRedeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
Says to the ^{▼▼Lit despised of soul
,} ^wdespised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers:
“ ^xKings will see and arise,
Princes will also ^ybow down,
Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”

8 This is what the Lord says:
“At a ^zfavorable time I answered You,
And on a day of salvation I helped You;
And I will ^aawatch over You and ^abmake You a covenant of the people,
To ^{▼▼Lit establish
,} ^adrestore the land, to give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands;
9 Saying to those who are ^aebound, ‘ ^{▼▼Lit Go out}Go free,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
They will feed along the roads,
And their pasture will be on all ^agbare heights.
10 “They will ^ahnot hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching ^aiheat or sun strike them down;
For ^ajHe who has compassion on them will ^aklead them,
And He will guide them to ^alsprings of water.
11 “I will make all ^amMy mountains a road,
And My ^anhighways will be raised up.
12 “Behold, these will come ^aofrom afar;
And behold, these will come from the ^apnorth and from the west,
And these from the land of Aswan.”
13 ^aqShout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains!
For the ^arLord has comforted His people
And will ^ashave compassion on His afflicted.

Promise to Zion

14 But Zion said, “The Lord has abandoned me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but ^atI will not forget you.
16 “Behold, I have ^auinscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your ^avwalls are continually before Me.
17 “Your ^{▼▼Ancient versions and DSS; MT sons}builders hurry;
Your ^axdestroyers and devastators
Will leave you.
18 “ ^ayRaise your eyes and look around;
^azAll of them gather together, ^bathey come to you.
^bbAs I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will certainly ^bcput them all on as ^{▼▼Lit an ornament}jewelry and bind them on as a bride.
19 “For ^beyour ruins and deserted places and your destroyed land--
Now you will certainly be ^bftoo cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who ^bgswallowed you will be far away.
20 “The ^bhchildren ^{▼▼Lit of your bereavement}you lost will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
21 “Then you will ^bjsay in your heart,
‘Who has fathered these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And ^bkcannot conceive, and I am an ^blexile, and a wanderer?
And who has raised these?
Behold, I was ^bmleft alone;
^{▼▼Lit These, where are they?
,} ^boWhere are these from?’”
22 This is what the Lord ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God says:

“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My ^bqflag to the peoples;
And they will ^brbring your sons ^{▼▼Lit on the chest}in their arms,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23 “ ^btKings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will ^bubow down to you with their faces to the ground
And ^bvlick the dust from your feet;
And you will ^bwknow that I am the Lord;
Those who hopefully ^bxwait for Me will ^bynot be put to shame.

24 “ ^bzCan the prey be taken from a mighty man,
Or the captives of ^{▼▼Ancient versions and DSS; MT the righteous, cf. v 25}a tyrant be rescued?”
25 Indeed, this is what the Lord says:

“Even the ^cbcaptives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the prey of a tyrant will be rescued;
For I will contend with the one who contends with you,
And I will ^ccsave your sons.
26 “I will feed your ^cdoppressors with their ^ceown flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And ^{▼▼Lit all flesh
,} ^cghumanity will know that I, the Lord, am your ^chSavior
And your ^ciRedeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”